Harvard and the Pyramid

** From a post on the lowcarbfriends.com site by Laura Richards:

There is a brand-new, must-read statement from Harvard's Willett and Stampfer dated December 15, 2002 published at ScientificAmerican.com The title is "Rebuilding the Food Pyramid." Whether or not you are well-versed in Harvard's opposition to the USDA's food pyramid, you will be happy to find that this statement is a comprehensive, yet condensed statement of their position. It is a great article to share with people in your life who are still extolling the low-fat, high-carb mantra.

The article begins with a very good summary of how the recommendations for low-fat, high-carb diets evolved -- including the flaws in the thinking of those who started the movement. They continue to strongly condemn the USDA and nutrition community for failing to recognize the negative health affects of carbohydrate, particularly high GI/GL carbohydrate and for failing to recognize that fats are health. Yes, they are still recommending that we avoid sat fats, but they are backing down a *bit*. They now say that trans fats raise heart disease risk substantially and sat fats only *slightly*. They also go into some detail about their proposed food pyramid.

Read it.